Iconic Students : A leader on and off the field

The soft-spoken St. Cloud State University
senior not only is a captain on the Husky
baseball team, but is mayor of his hometown
of Loretto.

There aren't many college seniors who
are mayors of their hometowns, but then, to
hear folks who know him talk, there aren't
many guys like Koch running around. Heck,
he even admits he is kind of different.

"I've always liked going to city council
meetings," the fifth-year finance major said.
Koch, 23, grew up in the community of 609
people. How small is the town? "Basically, we
don't have a high school, so I went to high
school in Delano."

As a high school student, Koch worked
in the city parks department. "I learned
a lot about the city working for the
parks department."

He also played a lot of baseball. It's a
family tradition in a town that has a rich
baseball history. Koch's father, Herb, is a
manager and long-time player. And his two
older brothers, Herb, Jr. 27, and Nick, 26,
play ball. The four even played all four infield
positions during one game and grabbed
newspaper headlines for the feat.

"The baseball field is the first thing
you see when you drive into town from the
north," said Koch, whose amateur team has
qualified for the last two state tournaments.
"There's a sense of community."

And on Wednesday nights and Sunday
afternoons, when the baseball team
plays its games, the community shows
up at the ballpark.

"It's a real small-town atmosphere. It's a
nice park, one of the best in our league. A lot
of pride and joy and a lot of volunteer work
when into it."

And the Koch family has invested lots of
time and energy into the park and baseball
program, including the elder Koch. "He
manages now and still plays a bit" at age 50,
Kent Koch said. And while Dad played, his
sons got their start as bat boys.

The decision for the youngest Koch to
attend St. Cloud State was easy. His uncle,
Tom Ditty '69, was a standout baseball
and basketball player at St. Cloud State.
So when then Head Coach Denny Lorsung
'71, recruited him, Koch knew he wanted
to wear the Huskies uniform. His first year
on the team ended when he broke a bone in
his hand, but every year since then, he has
played more and has become a versatile player
who can man every infield position. It's that
versatility the makes him a great team player
and will serve him well in his new role as mayor of Loretto.

Koch filed for the mayoral position
because no one else was running and
he thought it was time to step up to
the plate. He won by a vote of 189-109,
beating a former mayor who ran as a
write-in candidate.

"I'm definitely excited about it," said
Koch who will graduate this spring.
"It will be a fun and exciting challenge."

Husky Baseball Coach Pat Dolan '92,
has nothing but words of praise for his
senior co-captain.

"Kent is just a quality young man and a
leader for us both on and off the field. At
first when I heard about his election to mayor
of Loretto I was kind of surprised, but what
a great honor for a senior in college. With
only one class remaining this semester for his
graduation in finance it does open up some
time for him and his duties as mayor.

"I just told him when he's elected president
to remember us at Huskyland," Dolan said.

After graduation, Koch will move home
and delve more deeply into the role of mayor.
One of the big issues on the horizon in
Loretto is building a storm water drainage
system and doing away with sewer ponds.
That move will mean a tax increase, though,
and will need to be explained to residents.
Koch feels as though he can handle the job.

"I've gone to city council meetings the last
couple of years regularly," said Koch of the
once-a-month Tuesday night meetings.

Koch won't have an office in Loretto, but
if you need to find him, check the ballpark
on Wednesday nights and Sunday afternoons.